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payola

Blame the Corporate Media

Less than one week after Don Imus was fired, only days after Oprah’s round table with hip hop, and days after a gunman killed 33 people in Virginia, nothing has changed in the world.

I was listening to commercial radio in Detroit for the first time in months. I’m giving a songwriting workshop at a high school next week, and I wanted to hear what the kids are listening to so I don’t seem “out of touch”.

I heard the word “ho” bleeped or edited out more than I heard any real lyrics or original ideas. Let’s not even talk about how bad the songs are as “songs”. Let’s just talk about the language and the subject matter. It’s ridiculous.

But alas, I know that this is the state of the music industry. As an independent artist, I can’t get a song on commercial radio without literally paying THOUSANDS of dollars, but these knuckleheads with NO real lyrical content and NO real musical content get played over and over in Clear Channel’s 14 song playlist.

Do I sound bitter? Continue reading

Payola Scamola

Big radio and the FCC are still giving independent music artists the shaft.

The announced payola settlement between the Federal Communications Commission and four of the nation’s largest media groups won’t help the cause of indies and it won’t undo any of the damage caused by payola in radio. Just like the dog and pony show agreements signed by major record labels in recent years, this deal is a pile of manure.

In the proposed settlement Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Entercom Communications and Citadel Broadcasting agree to pay $12.5 million to the FCC and to provide 8400 half-hour segments for the play of independent music on their stations. The music will be chosen by the American Association of Independent Music. No details about how formats will be split up have been mentioned.

First of all, $12.5 million doesn’t even begin to approach the amount of money radio stations have received in payola over the years. And the nature of the game is no longer just a few disc jockeys receiving bags of coke in record jackets or hookers in the broadcast booth. The new payola is corporate policy. Continue reading

Payola Scamola

Big radio and the FCC are still giving independent music artists the shaft.

The announced payola settlement between the Federal Communications Commission and four of the nation’s largest media groups won’t help the cause of indies and it won’t undo any of the damage caused by payola in radio. Just like the dog and pony show agreements signed by major record labels in recent years, this deal is a pile of manure.

In the proposed settlement Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Entercom Communications and Citadel Broadcasting agree to pay $12.5 million to the FCC and to provide 8400 half-hour segments for the play of independent music on their stations. The music will be chosen by the American Association of Independent Music. No details about how formats will be split up have been mentioned.

First of all, $12.5 million doesn’t even begin to approach the amount of money radio stations have received in payola over the years. And the nature of the game is no longer just a few disc jockeys receiving bags of coke in record jackets or hookers in the broadcast booth. The new payola is corporate policy. Continue reading

© Nadir Omowale